Obama Said to Consider McGuire and Kramer for Treasury

By Hans Nichols -
Apr 1, 2013

President Barack Obama is considering two Wall Street executives, Raymond J. McGuire, the head of advisory business at Citigroup Inc., and Orin Kramer, a general partner at Boston Provident LP, for deputy Treasury secretary, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The president and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are seeking a candidate with experience in financial markets to complement Lew’s background in fiscal policy.

McGuire, whose unit at Citigroup consults for clients on mergers and acquisitions, is one the highest-ranking blacks on Wall Street. Kramer served in President Jimmy Carter’s administration. Both would bring a deep understanding of capital markets to the position, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Danielle Romero-Apsilos, Citigroup spokeswoman, declined to comment. Kramer and the White House had no immediate response when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Mary Miller, the current Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance and a former executive at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW), also meets the markets experience test.

Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer at Morgan Stanley (MS) who was the leading candidate for the post, told the White House last week that she was withdrawing from consideration.

For a White House stung by criticism that it lacks racial diversity, McGuire would allow Obama to recruit a black to represent the administration on economic matters while also complimenting Lew, who has spent most of career in government service in Washington, said the person.

For transportation secretary, Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx, who is black, has emerged as a leading candidate for one of the four remaining slots in Obama’s second term cabinet, said the person.

Foxx, 41, is a Democrat and has been a proponent of street car and light-rail projects as mayor of the city, where the Democratic National Convention was held last year. He was first elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2011.